Movies Like Waitress: The Musical (2023)

Waitress: The Musical is a 2023 comedy, drama film from Brett Sullivan with a MovieMagicScore of 7.3/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Hamilton and Newsies.

Comedy Drama

Hamilton

2025

Presenting the tale of American founding father Alexander Hamilton, this filmed version of the original Broadway smash hit is the story of America then, told by America now.

7.4

MagicScore

Newsies

2017

A week in the life of the exploited, child newspaper sellers in turn-of-the-century New York. When their publisher, Joseph Pulitzer, tries to squeeze a little more profit out of their labours, they organize a strike, only to be confronted with the Pulitzer's hard-ball tactics.

8.0

MagicScore

Legally Blonde: The Musical

2007

Fashionable sorority queen Elle Woods has it all, but, she wants nothing more than to be Mrs. Warner Huntington III. But he dumps her before heading to Harvard Law School. Elle rallies all of her resources and gets into Harvard, determined to win him back. While there, she figures out that there is more to herself than just good looks.

8.1

MagicScore

Shrek the Musical

2013

Put out of his swamp solitude by a wicked tyrant's order, grumpy ogre Shrek goes on a journey – accompanied by a chatterbox donkey – to retrieve a beautiful princess from a tower, unaware that she has secrets all her own.

7.1

MagicScore

The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall

2011

A disfigured musical genius, hidden away in the Paris Opera House, terrorises the opera company for the unwitting benefit of a young protégée whom he trains and loves. The 25th anniversary of the first public performance of Phantom of the Opera was celebrated with a grand performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

8.4

MagicScore

Come from Away

2021

Filmed live on Broadway, the Tony Award-winning musical tells the remarkable true story of 38 flights grounded in a small Canadian town on September 11, 2001. As the locals host these “come from aways,” they come together and find hope.

7.5

MagicScore

Billy Elliot: The Musical Live

2014

In County Durham, England, 1984, a talented young dancer, Billy Elliot, stumbles out of the boxing ring and onto the ballet floor. He faces many trials and triumphs as he strives to conquer his family’s set ways, inner conflict, and standing on his toes in a musical that questions masculinity, gender norms and conformity.

8.1

MagicScore

Miss Saigon: 25th Anniversary Performance

2016

The epic love story tells the tragic tale of young Vietnamese bar girl Kim, orphaned by war, who falls in love with American GI Chris — but their lives are torn apart by the fall of Saigon.

8.0

MagicScore

The Sound of Music Live!

2013

The Sound of Music Live! is a television special that was originally broadcast by NBC on December 5, 2013. Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the special was an adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway musical The Sound of Music, starring country singer Carrie Underwood as Maria von Trapp, performed and televised live from Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York. Meron felt that if the telecast were successful, the concept could become "another kind of entertainment that can exist on TV." By her request, Underwood's casting as Maria was personally endorsed by Julie Andrews, who starred in the 1965 film.

6.3

MagicScore

#10

Victor/Victoria

1995

Out-of-work singer Victoria Grant meets a just-fired, flamboyant gay man in a club in 1920s Paris. He convinces her to pretend to be a man who is a female impersonator in order to get a job. The act is a hit in a local nightclub, but things get complicated when a gangster and nightclub owner from Chicago, King Marchan, falls in love with "him." Filmed live on Broadway, 1995.

6.6

MagicScore

#11

Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical

2025

Young princess Anna of Arendelle dreams about finding true love at her sister Elsa’s coronation. Fate takes her on a dangerous journey in an attempt to end the eternal winter that has fallen over the kingdom. She's accompanied by ice delivery man Kristoff, his reindeer Sven, and snowman Olaf. On an adventure where she will find out what friendship, courage, family, and true love really means.

7.8

MagicScore

#12

Home Fries

1998

Dorian and Angus chase down their womanizing stepfather with a helicopter, frightening him to death. In his effort to cover their tracks, Dorian begins investigating his stepfather's mistress, Sally. She works at a fast-food drive-through, she's pregnant and Dorian quickly falls in love with her. Unfortunately, his scheming mother wants Sally dead. And Sally isn't sure she wants Dorian to be her child's father and also his brother.

5.1

MagicScore

#13

Trash

1970

The movie follows Joe, a heroin addict, throughout his quest to score more drugs. The episodic plot occurs over a single day and centers on Joe's problematic relationship with his on-off, sexually frustrated girlfriend. During the course of the day, Joe overdoses in front of an upper-class couple, attempts to fool Welfare into approving his methadone treatment by having Holly fake a pregnancy, and frustrates the women in his life with his drug-induced impotence.

5.7

MagicScore

#14

Heathers: The Musical

2023

A teenage girl who halfheartedly tries to be part of the "in crowd" meets a dashing rebel who teaches her a more sinister way to play social politics.

7.7

MagicScore

#15

Cats

1998

"Jellicle" cats join for a Jellicle ball where they rejoice with their leader, Old Deuteronomy. One cat will be chosen to go to the "Heavyside Layer" and be reborn.

7.3

MagicScore

#16

Gold Diggers of 1933

1933

When all Broadway shows are shut down during the Depression, a trio of desperate showgirls scheme to bilk a repugnant high society man of his money to keep their show going.

7.2

MagicScore

#17

Bridget Jones's Baby

2016

After breaking up with Mark Darcy five years earlier, Bridget Jones' happily-ever-after hasn't quite gone according to plan. Fortysomething and single again, she decides to focus on her job as top news producer and surround herself with old friends and new. For once, Bridget has everything completely under control. Then her love life takes a turn - while a weekend away at a music festival, she meets a dashing American named Jack, who is everything Mark is not, and spends a night with him. A week later, she runs into newly-separated Mark, and has a one-night dalliance. In an unlikely twist, she finds herself pregnant, but with one hitch - she's not sure of the identity of her baby's father - Mark or Jack.

6.4

MagicScore

#18

What to Expect When You're Expecting

2012

Challenges of impending parenthood turn the lives of five couples upside down. Two celebrities are unprepared for the surprise demands of pregnancy; hormones wreak havoc on a baby-crazy author, while her husband tries not to be outdone by his father, who's expecting twins with his young trophy wife; a photographer's husband isn't sure about his wife's adoption plans; a one-time hook-up results in a surprise pregnancy for rival food-truck owners.

6.0

MagicScore

#19

Notre Dame de Paris

1999

A musical adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel "Notre Dame de Paris" which follows the gypsy dancer Esmeralda and the three men who vie for her love: the kind hunchback Quadimodo, the twisted priest Frollo, and the unfaithful soldier Phoebus.

8.2

MagicScore

#20

The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage!

2019

SpongeBob and all of Bikini Bottom face catastrophe—until a most unexpected hero rises to take center stage.

7.9

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Waitress: The Musical?

The top films similar to Waitress: The Musical by MovieMagicScore are Hamilton (7.4), Newsies (8.0), Legally Blonde: The Musical (8.1). Each shares comedy/drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Waitress: The Musical worth watching?

Waitress: The Musical holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.3/10 from 31 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Waitress: The Musical?

Waitress: The Musical (2023) is a comedy, drama film directed by Brett Sullivan, starring Sara Bareilles, Charity Angél Dawson, Caitlin Houlahan.

Where can I find more recommendations like Waitress: The Musical?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more comedy recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Hamilton Movies like Newsies Movies like Legally Blonde: The Musical Movies like Shrek the Musical Movies like The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall Movies like Come from Away

About movies like Waitress: The Musical

This ranked list pairs Waitress: The Musical (2023), a comedy and drama film from Brett Sullivan, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Sara Bareilles take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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